Just when you think baseball cards are the center of the universe

[mighty bombjack]

What was the answer? Did they show the card? Certainly Trebek didn't say "The person depicted on the t206 Wagner."

[MikeGarcia]

Originally Posted by mighty bombjack

What was the answer? Did they show the card? Certainly Trebek didn't say "The person depicted on the t206 Wagner."

..he only does that on "Celebrity Jeopardy" on Saturday Night Live.....the answer would inevitably be ' Who is Turd Ferguson?' or "your mother, TREBECK!"

..

[darwinbulldog]

I'm guessing about 1 in a 1000 could identify the man in this picture:

[begsu1013]

.

[pokerplyr80]

For the last time the category is therapists Bob.

[4815162342]

Originally Posted by darwinbulldog

I'm guessing about 1 in a 1000 could identify the man in this picture:

There are around 250 million people in the US that are 16 years of age or older. Do you really think there are 250,000 who know who Walter Johnson is?

[darwinbulldog]

Originally Posted by 4815162342

There are around 250 million people in the US that are 16 years of age or older. Do you really think there are 250,000 who know who Walter Johnson is?

Absolutely. I'm guessing at least 100 million would recognize it as a picture of an old baseball player. You'd have a lot more people guessing Ruth, Gehrig, Cobb, and DiMaggio than getting it right; but he's the single greatest pitcher in the history of the game after all, so 250,000 seems about right to me. I grew up in New Orleans. We've got about 400,000 people there. Surely there are at least a few hundred old-timers in the entire city who would take one look at that photo and say, "Well that's Walter Johnson of course. Why do you ask?" And that's not even a baseball city. You'd do much better in St. Louis or Boston. And of course there are hundreds of other cities, to say nothing of the suburbs and the countryside.

Among baseball card collectors, the 1 in 1000 number doesn't seem plausible. I think about 80% of pre-war collectors would know, maybe 20% of the Topps era collectors would know (or at least guess correctly), and then maybe 1% of the modern card collectors. In total, I'd guess 5-10% of all baseball card collectors, not 0.1%.

[4815162342]

Originally Posted by darwinbulldog

Absolutely. I'm guessing at least 100 million would recognize it as a picture of an old baseball player. You'd have a lot more people guessing Ruth, Gehrig, Cobb, and DiMaggio than getting it right; but he's the single greatest pitcher in the history of the game after all, so 250,000 seems about right to me. I grew up in New Orleans. We've got about 400,000 people there. Surely there are at least a few hundred old-timers in the entire city who would take one look at that photo and say, "Well that's Walter Johnson of course. Why do you ask?" And that's not even a baseball city. You'd do much better in St. Louis or Boston. And of course there are hundreds of other cities, to say nothing of the suburbs and the countryside.



Among baseball card collectors, the 1 in 1000 number doesn't seem plausible. I think about 80% of pre-war collectors would know, maybe 20% of the Topps era collectors would know (or at least guess correctly), and then maybe 1% of the modern card collectors. In total, I'd guess 5-10% of all baseball card collectors, not 0.1%.

I wish all of this were true, I really do. I agree that 80% of pre-war collectors would know Walter Johnson. It might even be 90-95%. The rest is wishful thinking.

[brian1961]

Glenn--- I forgot about A-Rod. Yeah, I would recognize him. Really, I haven't watched a MLB game in person since 1977 and on TV since about 2000. It's not about living under a rock; simply other interests have taken hold. ---Brian

[bn2cardz]

Originally Posted by darwinbulldog

I'm guessing about 1 in a 1000 could identify the man in this picture:

I wouldn't be surprised if many purely modern collectors and followers of the game wouldn't even know who that is. I collect some modern and some of those guys seem surprised that the game existed prior to 1950.

[brightair]

Watched a show recently where a guy filmed himself asking young Americans on a beach questions like...

"Who won the Civil War?"
"Who fought in the American Revolution?"
"When did the War of 1812 happen?"

The answers were painful to hear.

Seriously, it breaks your heart...

Is anyone really surprised about a 100 year old baseball card? If so, enjoy that nice comfy bubble you live in.

I am frequently having to burst my own little bubbles as I run into examples of general ignorance and inabilities to think critically almost daily.

[bnorth]

Originally Posted by darwinbulldog

I'm guessing about 1 in a 1000 could identify the man in this picture:

There is no way that many know who that is. I have been collecting for close to 30 years and had no idea who it was. Maybe 1 in 1000 card collectors know who it is.

[joeadcock]

I wonder if even the majority of major league players now in 2016 know who that is.

[familytoad]

In fairness, even the card company making T207 (and even the pitching pose In T206) wasn't too good at identifying Barney .

[Leon]

Originally Posted by joeadcock

I wonder if even the majority of major league players now in 2016 know who that is.

If it's any consolation I don't know who they are...

[brian1961]

Originally Posted by Leon

If it's any consolation I don't know who they are...

If it's any consolation, I knew instantly that was Walter Johnson, THE BIG TRAIN. The consolation is furthered by the fact I cannot identily one single 2016 MLB player by their picture in uniform today.

Go Barney!!!!!!!

--Brian Powell